Chris and the pizza I still owe him:

This made my day: Finding an old friend.
In my last 2 years of higher schooling in the remote out post of Maine, there was a young guy who rode dirt and skinny who came from an island in the Atlantic. Outside of being a nice person, and a strong rider, it was very self evident that he walked to his own beat: he was not made to dwell/work amidst the machine and collect the trappings. There are freaks who were quirky for the sake of being different and then those who moved in life differently because they saw the world differently than the rest of us. Chris thought outside of the box back then and so to find him via the inter-web 15 years later on his own trail that he had broken on his own, showed that he had not deviated. For some reason it gave me hope for humanity to know there were people who are not corporate followers and who are trying to make a difference at the ground level.

That is Chris Ryan and his special pink haired sweet.
I had seen him a few years back at an adventure race (he was working it and I was doing it) where he had told me he was about to embark on a cross country traverse on a bike to raise awareness for some cause he had taken up. It turns out he did the trip twice. Freakishly hard.

While surfing pictures of the recent Portland hand made bike show (side note: In my humble estimation this maybe is the third best true bike show in the world after North American Hand Made Bike Show and the Euro show in Germany based upon the quality of hand made work...not the mass made stuff) I commented on one of his pictures unbeknowst to me. He wrote me back saying we knew each other and while it took me a minute (he had changed his last name) I knew exactly who he was: he rode a Cannondale in college (most people I know by what bike they ride). In fact I still owed him a pizza for a deal he brokered for me when I was selling one of my bikes. Chris, pick the date and send me the number and I will order you up a pizza for you and Ms. Sweet Pink.

We exchanged a few emails and it turns out he is a published write: a feat I hold with the highest regard. He now lives in Oregon and is working on his next projects. This is his shingle he put out on the web: http://www.thebibleofanimalfeet.com/

Chris: Thank you for knowing it was me and writing me to say hello: it made my day.

I am always amazed how the vast world feels and yet how close we all are.